Composer
of the Year
The Louisville Academy of Music Composer of the Year Program supports our staff and faculty as we seek to diversify the classical canon through music education. As educators, we hold a responsibility to future generations to ensure that classical music is representative of all people. The Composer of the Year Program offers pathways for our teachers, students, and community to dive deep into the music and life of an underrepresented composer, facilitating the long-term diversity of our classical canon.
Chiquinha Gonzaga is the 2024 Composer of the Year!
Join us as we learn about Gonzaga's life and work. Stay tuned for more events, resources, and upcoming performances of Gonzaga’s Music!
BIOGRAPHY
Francisca Edwiges Neves “Chiquinha” Gonzaga was born in Rio de Janeiro on October 17th, 1847. Her father, José Basileu Neves Gonzaga, was an army lieutenant, and her mother, Rosa de Lima Maria, was an enslaved woman. Although her parents came from starkly different social classes, Gonzaga’s father did not abandon his daughter. Instead, Gonzaga grew up with the advantages of high-class Brazilian society and received an education in reading, writing, mathematics, languages, religion, and music. She loved music most of all and composed her first song, “Canção dos Pastores” (Shepherd’s Song), at age 11.
Seeking to tame Gonzaga’s “unsettled and mischievous” nature, her father arranged a marriage for her at the age of 16 to 24-year-old imperial army official Riberio do Amaral. Together, the couple had three children. However, Gonzaga’s husband did not support her pursuit of music. Ultimately, when forced to choose between marriage and music, Gonzaga replied, “Well, sir, my husband, I do not understand life without harmony.” The couple promptly divorced.
After her divorce, Gonzaga’s family ostracized her. She found support and community from fellow musicians in Rio, particularly Joaquim Antonio da Silva Callado. Callado was a leader in developing one of Brazil’s most characteristic forms of popular music, choro (pronounced SHO-ro). Callado led ensembles consisting of a soloist, accompanied by guitars and a cavaquinho (a small, four-stringed guitar) playing improvisatory figures. Gonzaga played piano in Callado’s ensembles, becoming Brazil's first female conductor and performing musician.
As a composer, Gonzaga brought the sounds of choro and other forms of Brazilian street music into salons and concert halls. This departure from the traditions of European classical music was popular, and Gonzaga’s compositions became especially well-known in the last two decades of the 19th century. Gonzaga’s music was also influential in the Brazilian tradition of Carnaval, an annual festival that marks the beginning of Lent. Her composition “Ô Abre Alas!” (Oh, Make Way!) was played at the festival to ask crowds to make way for the parade.
Activism was another prominent part of Gonzaga’s career. After joining the Sociedade Brasileira de Autores Teatrais (Brazilian Society of Artistic Copyright Law), she worked hard to protect the copyright of other Brazilian artists. Gonzaga supported abolitionist movements in Brazil until the abolishment of slavery in 1888. She frequently used the money she made from selling her music to donate to organizations that sheltered and protected enslaved people.
Chiquinha Gonzaga died in Rio on February 28th, 1935. Although she remains relatively unknown worldwide, she is considered an important cultural figure within her home country. She produced over 200 compositions in her lifetime, including waltzes, polkas, and operettas. The National Day of Brazilian Popular Music is celebrated on October 17th, Chiquinha’s birthday.